April 26, 2019, Representatives from Fresno Unified School District’s Purchasing and Food program and the University of California of Cooperative Extension toured Zia Thae Farms with the guidance of ABIRC. With the tour, ABIRC’s goal is to create a Farm to School program with local South East Asian Farmers. The goal is to create a path for the Southeast Asian small Farmers to be able to sell local products to the School District. We are excited about the project and potential economic impact that this may have on the small Southeast Asian farmers.
Left to Right, Dao Lor is the Program Assistant for ABIRC, Zia Thea Xiong is the Owner of Zia Thea Farm, Macy Xiong is a local South East Asian Farmer, Yeu Cha is the Owner of HmongUSA TV, Esther Moltrie is the Food Service Buyer for Fresno Unified School District, Mengda Vue is the Program Assistant for ABIRC, Amanda Harvey is the Nutritionist for Fresno Unified School District, Chong Yee Xiong is a local South East Asian Farmer, Jacob Roberson is a representative from the University of California Cooperative Extension, Jose Alvarado is the Food Service Director for Fresno Unified School District, Blong Xiong is the Executive Director for ABIRC, Michael Yang is a representative from the University of California Cooperative Extension, and Jet Thao is a local South East Asian Farmer.